Three quarterbacks were selected within the first four picks of the 2023 NFL draft. And through four weeks of the season, two of them look like they deserved to go atop the board—and neither of them is the guy who actually did.
On Wednesday, Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich spoke a bit about the early success of both No. 2 overall pick C.J. Stroud and No. 4 overall pick Anthony Richardson. He was asked if he still keeps up with the pair of passers he and the team’s braintrust passed up on.
Buy Panthers Tickets“Yes,” he replied. “I don’t spend a lot of time on it. But every week . . . I do this every year. I’m not just doing it because we drafted a quarterback. This is because I’m an offensive quarterback guy and I always evaluate the quarterbacks when they’re playing—like up towards the end of the week, when all the game-planning is done, I’ll pop on all their throws from the previous game. Just buzz through it. See what they look like, what are they doing?
“And like I said, as a coach, we know what we wanna do. But it’s not like we’re closed off to somebody else doin’ something that could help us. And maybe there’s an idea. Maybe there’s an idea. Maybe there’s not. But we’re always open to learnin’ and gettin’ better.”
The Panthers, of course, nabbed Bryce Young with the first overall selection of the draft. Unfortunately, and perhaps unfairly to Young, he hasn’t looked like a No. 1 pick just yet—as he’s passed for only 503 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions through three winless starts.
But Stroud, who went one pick after Young, is off to a roaring start for the Houston Texans. September’s Offensive Rookie of the Month has his squad at a 2-2 mark while tossing for 1,212 yards, six scores and no picks.
Richardson is making his presence known as well. The Indianapolis Colts’ dual-threat prize currently leads the NFL in explosive play rate, having amassed the highest concentration of runs that’ve gone for at least 12 yards and passes that’ve gone for at least 20.
So, hopefully for Reich and Young, there’s something in that tape that can help them.
